Dear god, I'm hot. I just read a piece on everyone's favourite tabloid saying that pregnant women are especially vulnerable in these kinds of temperatures (hottest 1 July on record apparently!), and I certainly feel it! Not exactly sure what we are vulnerable for though - premature labour? Fainting? Dehydration? Elephant feet finally exploding?

So at 32 weeks pregnant, I am starting to wish my life away just a little. I've said a few times over the past week 'wish Chip was here already' as I am really beginning to feel uncomfortable now. Technically I will be full-term in five weeks, which really isn't that long away is it? Gulp. Oli has said a few times that he thinks Chip will be early and I have a suspicion his instincts may be right. Time will tell.

Apart from my feet being gigantic (yep, still not over this, and the heat is making them worse!), I'm now suffering with quite bad back pain if I have to stand or walk around a lot during the day. Sleeping well seems to have gone out of the window completely, and as a result I'm also really emotional, having had lots of sobbing sessions over the last week, mostly about inconsequential things. Oh and if I sit down in front of the TV in the later afternoon, there's a real possibility that within ten minutes I'll be asleep and drooling all over the cushions.

My tummy has expanded a LOT over the past week too, which was quite a surprise - it definitely seems to go through growth spurts. I don't have any stretch marks yet but I am being really rubbish at remembering to rub Bio Oil into my tum every day so I am certainly living on borrowed time.

Actually, at 32 weeks there's not much to report really. Chip moves all the time these days, and I can tell he/she is getting stronger. I'm really quite content and happy, and really really looking forward to being a mum!

And on that note... you may remember that when I had my 20 week scan, we asked the sonographer to write the gender of the baby on a piece of card, which we sealed in an envelope. What I didn't reveal before was that that envelope remained unopened for less than an hour after we got home. Poor Oli - his new phrase is 'you always get your own way don't you?' because I badgered him and badgered him to let us open it and see what it said, and eventually he gave in.

I hadn't announced the gender on the blog before because part of me has always thought that other people probably don't care whether you're having a girl or a boy, and those ridiculous gender reveal parties popular in the US, where people bake cakes with pink or blue food colouring inside to 'reveal' the news to their family, just seem so ME ME ME and cringeworthy. There were also a few family members that didn't yet know, and I didn't want them to find out through the blog. But then I started talking on Facebook about the sex and a few of my friends seemed surprised that I was just casually letting out the info.

So, this isn't a ME ME ME post I promise, but - *drum roll* - here's what we saw when we opened the envelope...

I have to say, it was one of the best moments of my life. If you are pregnant and considering finding out the sex, I really recommend asking the sonographer to write it down for you so you can share the news at home, or somewhere special. Much more pleasant than finding out in a sterile hospital room lying on your back with jelly all over your tum.

So yes, we are very excited and pleased to announce that Chip is a girl! And although it's totally wrong to say it, we really did both have a preference for a girl (surely everyone has a secret preference deep down?!). I'm so excited about the idea of having a daughter, and I have, of course, already spent an absolute fortune on adorable little dresses etc which all my mother-friends have told me are totally impractical for babies and she will hardly ever wear. But oh my gosh is it fun. She is certainly going to have a better wardrobe than me!